Nissan Micra - car review

You’ve bought your new car, set aside pens, chocolate limes and a handy pack of tissues to populate the glovebox, only to discover an owner’s manual taking the lion’s share of the space. Annoying isn’t it?

It seems Nissan thinks so too, so bright sparks at the car maker have come up with a smartphone app that will liberate your dashboard compartment to fulfil its original purpose, glove storage.

Called iManual, it’s available for the new Micra and sees all of the information contained within the car’s manual squeezed into one software application that can be stored on both Apple and Android smartphones. The iManual also incorporates visual recognition software that allows you to identify dashboard symbols and switches by using your phone’s camera.

This is just one small part of a little car that has, in one guise or another, been busying itself around the UK’s cities for three decades.

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During its four generations, the Micra has appeared entirely functional, somewhat bizarre and now, almost accomplished. Although this latest model is, in fact, a mid-life makeover, Nissan are tagging it “New Micra”.

And that is a fair call when considering extensive levels of reconstructive surgery it has undergone. The bonnet, wings, headlamps and front bumper are all new. The tail has been tickled, too. Here, you’ll find a redesigned bumper and brighter LED lamps.

Visually, little has changed in the cabin. And give Nissan credit, despite the hard-wearing, grey plastics that still dominate the interior space, especially below eye level, the Micra’s cabin is now a much better place to spend time.

There are sockets to add your sounds, Bluetooth to add your phone and a colour screen sat nav that you can programme from your PC.

All useful equipment indeed, but one electronic addition that may not see so much service is Parking Slot Measurement. This, unlike other parking systems, does not reverse the car into a space for you, it merely advises whether a gap is of a suitable size to accommodate your Micra.

Although one of the smaller cars in its class, the Micra offers decent levels of cabin space. The boot is on the small side, but the split-level seats in all but the Visia spec models will help to overcome this particular shortcoming.

Two engines are offered, a 1.2-litre petrol and a 1.2-litre Direct Injection Gasoline Supercharged (DIG-S) unit.

It is the DIG-S that Nissan is most excited about. This three-cylinder unit delivers impressive economy – more than 60mpg according to the company’s figures. During the test drive, our car returned around-45mpg, not the figures quoted, but still good numbers nonetheless. And at just 95g/km of CO2 it is exempt from road tax.

What is a surprise is the way this three-cylinder unit performs. The engine revs freely and can get quite a squirt on when asked. Light steering, a tight turning circle and excellent all-round visibility make it ideal for the urban life, but out of town it’s a different story. Despite the engine’s best efforts, the handling lets the little car down on sweeping roads.

It is much better when settled at motorway speeds. With the cruise control set, the Micra is capable of covering long distances with little fuss, and maybe just a little external noise.

Although the Micra scores well in certain areas, it’s spacious, cheap to run and has plenty of equipment – if you spend the money – it is up against an awful lot of competition and much of that competition could be bought with your heart as well as your head.